Amos 5:17
in Amos 5There will be wailing in all the vineyards, for I will pass through your midst,” says the LORD.
BSB
The same verse in ASV and KJV ▾
ASV
And in all vineyards shall be wailing; for I will pass through the midst of thee, saith Jehovah.
KJV
And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord.
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This verse in Amos 5
Commentary
7 notes on this verseAnd in all vineyards shall be wailing,.... The vines being destroyed, and no grapes to be gathered, and put into the press; when there used to be great shoutings, and large expressions of joy, at the gathering in of the vintage, and pressing the grapes; but now there shall be a different tone; see Jer 48:32; for I will pass through thee, saith the Lord; through their cities, towns, and country, fields and vineyards, and destroy all in his way, as he passed through Egypt when he destroyed their firstborn.
This site's exposition
Wailing shall be in all streets
on Amos 5:16-17
The threefold divine name opening verse 16, the Lord, the God of hosts, the Lord, is read by the bench as solemn escalation, the fullest title Amos uses anywhere in the book, matched to the fullest grief he announces. Professional mourners, those skilful of lamentation, are called into every street and every vineyard, the very fields that in verse 11 were planted for wine now filled with funeral wailing instead of harvest song. I will pass through thee, saith the Lord, echoes the language of the Exodus judgment on Egypt, the bench naming the deliberate reversal, the God who once passed over his people to spare them now passing through to strike.
The record, by era
The Church Fathers1 voice
(Verse 16, 17.) Therefore, thus says the Lord God of hosts, the ruler: In all the streets there will be lamentation, and in all the public squares people will say, 'Alas! Alas!' They will summon the farmer to mourning and those skilled in lamentation to lament. And in all the vineyards there will be lamentation, for I will pass through your midst, says the Lord. LXX: Therefore, thus says the Lord God Almighty: In all the streets there will be lamentation, and in all the roads people will say, 'Alas! Alas!'
The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice
God's judgments had often passed by them, but now they shall pass through them, shall run them through. A just and severe reproof to those who made light of these threatenings, and impudently bade defiance to the justice of God and his judgments,
The Nineteenth Century3 voices
A commentator
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown1802–1910
Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871)
proposed
in all vineyards . . . wailing--where usually songs of joy were heard. pass through thee--taking vengeance (Ex 12:12, 23; "Pass over" and "pass by," on the contrary, are used of God's forgiving (Ex 12:23;
quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase+unbalanced-parens
And in all vineyards shall be wailing - The places where festivity especially used to prevail. I will pass through thee - As I passed, by the ministry of the destroying angel, through Egypt, not to spare, but to destroy.
A commentator
Albert Barnes1798–1870
Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869)
proposed
And in all vineyards shall be wailing - All joy should be turned into sorrow. Where aforetime was the vintage-shout in thankfulness for the ingathering, and anticipating gladness to come, there, in the source of their luxury, should be wailing, the forerunner of sorrow to come. it was a vintage, not of wine, but of woe.
The words behind it
8 Hebrew wordsEvery Hebrew word of this verse in the order it stands, with what it means and the door to its own study. The last column counts the times a word stands in the whole Bible: the rarer the word, the more the places it appears belong together.
| Hebrew | Sound | Meaning | Word study | In the Bible |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| וּבְכָל־ | uvekhol- | and [will be] in all | H3605 → | 5413 times |
| כְּרָמִ֖ים | keramim | [the] vineyards | H3754 → | 92 times |
| מִסְפֵּ֑ד | misped | wailing | H4553 → | 16 times |
| כִּֽי־ | ki- | for | H3588 → | 4482 times |
| אֶעֱבֹ֥ר | ʾeevor | I will pass | H5674 → | 556 times |
| בְּקִרְבְּךָ֖ | bekirbecha | in midst your | H7130 → | 227 times |
| אָמַ֥ר | ʾamar | he says | H559 → | 5305 times |
| יְהוָֽה׃ ס | yahweh | Yahweh | H3068 → | 6520 times |
וּבְכָל־and [will be] in all
uvekhol-H3605 →5413 times
כְּרָמִ֖ים[the] vineyards
keramimH3754 →92 times
מִסְפֵּ֑דwailing
mispedH4553 →16 times
כִּֽי־for
ki-H3588 →4482 times
אֶעֱבֹ֥רI will pass
ʾeevorH5674 →556 times
בְּקִרְבְּךָ֖in midst your
bekirbechaH7130 →227 times
אָמַ֥רhe says
ʾamarH559 →5305 times
יְהוָֽה׃ סYahweh
yahwehH3068 →6520 times
A shaded row is a word that stands 400 times or fewer in the Bible.
The walk
8 stopsEach card is a verse this one points to, and under it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it.
Through
Exodus 12:12On that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn male, both man and beast, and I will execute judgment against all the gods of Egypt. I am…
it leads to
- Numbers 33:4
who were burying all their firstborn, whom the LORD had struck down among them; for the LORD had executed judgment against their gods.
- Psalms 82:6
I have said, ‘You are gods; you are all sons of the Most High.’
- Exodus 12:23
When the LORD passes through to strike down the Egyptians, He will see the blood on the top and sides of the doorframe and will pass over that doorway; so He will not allow…
- Jeremiah 43:13
He will demolish the sacred pillars of the temple of the sun in the land of Egypt, and he will burn down the temples of the gods of Egypt.’”
- Psalms 82:1
God presides in the divine assembly; He renders judgment among the gods:
- Numbers 33:4
Through
Joel 3:17Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who dwells in Zion, My holy mountain. Jerusalem will be holy, never again to be overrun by foreigners.
it leads to
- Joel 2:27
Then you will know that I am present in Israel and that I am the LORD your God, and there is no other. My people will never again be put to shame.
- Nahum 1:15
Look to the mountains—the feet of one who brings good news, who proclaims peace! Celebrate your feasts, O Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked will never again march through you; they will be…
- Isaiah 52:1
Awake, awake, clothe yourself with strength, O Zion! Put on your garments of splendor, O Jerusalem, holy city! For the uncircumcised and unclean will no longer enter you.
- Joel 2:27
Where this verse is studied
About Amos
This page draws on Adam Clarke, Commentary on the Bible; Albert Barnes, Notes, Explanatory and Practical, on the Old and New Testaments (1832-1869); Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets; Edward Bouverie Pusey, The Minor Prophets: A Commentary; Jamieson, Fausset & Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible; Jerome, Commentary on Amos; John Gill, Exposition of the Old Testament (1748-1763) and Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible.